Expectations

            When selling products at shows, there is a distinct type of let-down felt when a usually successful show turns out otherwise. It is quite different from poor sales at a new event, where the success of the show is unknown, or somewhere where sales have been poor in the past.

            It all comes down to expectations. If you go into an event expecting success, the joy is less when you are successful and the disappointment worse when you are not. On the other hand, if you expect failure, you won’t be disappointed when you fail, and you’ll be overjoyed when you succeed.

            Looking at the end results of expectations, the next logical step is that it’s a good idea to always expect failure. After all, then you won’t ever be disappointed and you’ll be very happy if you succeed. However, there is a glaring flaw in that logic: your performance.

            If you go into everything expecting it to fail, you will put less effort into it. Worse, you’ll likely be unhappy, which will have a negative impact on everything you do. As a result, you’ll be less likely to succeed.

            Ah hah! says Logic. In that case, expecting to succeed should make you more likely to succeed! And yes, that is true – but only to a certain degree. The sad truth is that it is far easier to fail than succeed. Yes, you’re more likely to succeed if you’re expecting success, but there are too many elements outside your control for that alone to lead to success. In other words, by expecting success, you are setting yourself up for that special kind of disappointment while stealing the joy from your success.

            It is far better to approach things without any expectations at all. Or, as another way of looking at it, with curiosity. I wonder how this will turn out; let’s find out! You keep an open mind, striving for success while leaving yourself open to the joy of achieving it. And if you’re headed for failure, well, just make the best of the situation and try to mitigate your disappointment.

            Having expectations doesn’t help with anything. It’s just our way of trying to predict the future, which we really can’t. Or, if you can, you really need to invite me to a racetrack some day.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Augmented Reality and the Future

            In the past couple of weeks, the internet (and, indeed, the world) has exploded about the new augmented reality game, Pokemon Go. There are two major opinions – the people who love the game and those who think it’s stupid. To me, though, the important thing to look at is what this game means for the future.

            Last year, I shared the story of the Zombies, Run! app and how it got Colleen and myself out exercising regularly when otherwise we could hardly dream of it. Pokemon Go has done the same thing across the whole world – people who would normally be inside all summer playing video games are now outside, exercising, exploring and socializing. People with mental health issues, such as depression and PTSD, are reporting improvements.

So, what do those two games have in common? They make exercise fun, rather than a chore.

            Now, the term “Augmented Reality” is something I’ve become quite familiar with over the past year. Why? Because one day, while out running from zombies, I said to Colleen, “Wouldn’t it be cool if someone developed a technology that would let us actually see the zombies that are chasing us in the story?” I then went on to hypothesize that you could take a virtual reality headset, mount cameras to feed in the scenery and then add in the digital characters.

            I figured I couldn’t be the only one to come up with this idea, so I did some research. What I found was astonishing – in particular, a company called Magic Leap that is working on a piece of technology far beyond what I had been imagining. My brain was flooded with ideas for the possible uses of this technology – yes, games were at the forefront, but there are so many practical purposes as well. It functions as an immersive mobile computer, an art platform, a communications device. With it, people have the potential to holo-comute to work.

            To me, though, the best application of augmented reality is the ability to combine work and play. Imagine being able to go into work and have the work you do become part of a game. You could have high scores that you try to beat each days, achievements and awards for completing a certain amount of work at a certain speed. Goals and praise that can break up an otherwise dull and tedious work shift. From an employer’s standpoint, it could be used to improve worker output and even work quality through turning work into a game.

            Pokemon Go is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re entering a future where science fiction is becoming a reality, and it has great potential for improving life in innumerable ways. All it takes are some deceptive photons and a little imagination to make the world a better place.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her life coaching website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Metaphorical Starbucks

            Once, a long time ago (back before we were married), my wife and I sat in a car debating whether or not she should go into Starbucks to purchase a particular beverage she desired. It wasn't the first time a debate such as this had occurred, but it turned out to be the last.

            It all came down to the money. We weren't in a particularly good financial position, especially because we were in the process of saving for our wedding and our future. That was the topic we’d been discussing prior to my wife’s imminent departure for Starbucks.

            After how much she’d been expressing that she desired the aforementioned beverage, I was very frustrated when she suddenly changed her mind and refused to get out of the car. She insisted that it was something she wanted, not needed, and therefore she should go without it. Since this was a method of money-handling I’d taught her, I could have left it at that – but I knew how much she wanted that drink, so I shared with her the following philosophy.

            Life is hard. Sometimes it’s downright miserable and nothing seems to go your way. You might be a hairsbreadth from being broke, but that doesn't mean you can just stop spending money on the little things that make you happy. Because, the truth of it is, life isn't worth living if you can’t find some enjoyment in it. Sure, a penny saved is a penny earned, but if you live your entire life like that, you end up miserable and sitting on a mountain of pennies, wondering why you bother with it all. On the other hand, you could go into Starbucks and spend some of those pennies on a drink that will cheer you up. In the long run, you won’t be as wealthy, but your life will be far richer.

            Now, whenever my wife and I use the word Starbucks, we’re very rarely referring to the coffee shop. Starbucks means all those little things in life that you don’t need to buy – perhaps it’s even a bad choice to spend the money – but they make life a little brighter and happier for a time.

            Happiness is worth far more than all the money in the world, so every now and then, treat yourself to some Starbucks (from wherever you choose) – your life will be richer for it.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Life Under a Rock

            One of these days I'm going to sit down to write a blog and have no clue what to write. Although, to be fair, that describes almost every week. What I really mean is that I’ll have no clue and I’ll remain clueless so long that I’ll be left without a blog.

            I guess it would help a bit if I didn't live under a rock. If you consider that I rarely leave the house more than once a week, I don’t have access to TV (and wouldn't watch it if I did), I don’t listen to the radio and the only news I find out about is what filters to me through social media sites, it’s actually pretty impressive that I can find as much to talk about as I do.

            It might seem like an odd life choice to be so cut off from what are staples for most of society, but for me it comes naturally. I grew up without TV (it was replaced by my dad’s extensive movie collection) in a household that didn't even bother with newspapers. No one was interested enough for it to be worth it.

            Since the invention of the printing press, it has become more and more important for people to know what’s going on in the rest of the world. At first, it was just news being passed on, along with propaganda, but now it has evolved into entertainment. Because of that, news has become a series of one catastrophe after another – after all, the core of all entertainment is conflict. The end result is that the news is depressing and nothing is achieved by knowing it, so I figure I'm better off without it.

            I’ll admit that keeping on top of world (or even local) events is important for some people, but for me (and probably most people) it really doesn't matter. I know there are lots of things wrong with the world; I don’t need to be reminded. What will knowing about current events accomplish? I don’t have the time or resources to do anything about it. The best I can do is vote for a government that will do what they can (at which point I do research that negates the need to be constantly deluged with global issues).

            The result of this? I get to live a happier life. It could be argued that I'm uninformed, but, in this day and age, any time I need to know about something, I can just look it up. Personally, I think that living a happier life is more important than knowing about events I have no control over. I may be living under a rock, but it’s nice down here. Plus, I have the added bonus of being able to poke my head out to participate in the world whenever I want (which, admittedly, is not often).

            The moral of the story is, you can’t get stuck between a rock and a hard place if the rock is working for you. Come live under a rock and be happier. But not my rock. It’s occupied. Shoo.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.